Praxair to Shed U.S. Home Care

DANBURY, Conn. — In a Dec. 15 press release, Praxair said
it intends to sell the U.S. home care portion of its North American
health care business.

The company doubled the size of that business in 2004 with the
$245 million purchase of Beaumont, Texas-based Home Care Supply, a
60-branch HME with 1,200 employees. The acquisition gave Praxair
operations in 27 states. But according to an analyst with Argus
Research Corp., the market isn’t growing as fast as the company
thought. “It’s not as profitable as they thought,” William Selesky
told the Stamford Advocate.

A spokesman for Praxair told the newspaper that the home care
unit is under pressure because of declining reimbursements, but he
also said “there are a number of prospective buyers.”

Praxair is the largest industrial gases company in North and
South America, and one of the largest worldwide, with 2009 sales of
$9 billion and operations in 30 countries. Praxair Healthcare
Services provides home oxygen, sleep therapy, enteral services and
HME through 85 U.S. locations, with annual sales of approximately
$150 million.

Read the Advocate story at www.stamfordadvocate.com/default/article/Praxair-affirms-forecast-despite-taking-290M-902438.php.